GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1050, 13 February 1911, Page 8

GENERAL FARMING NEWS.

■East Coast, fever, is' a 'serious -scourge • to cattle-owners in South Africa... Iu the new number of tho official Transvaal Agricultural Journal' an article by Dr. AwThciller,. Government .Veterinary,- Bae'tetioloEist;*,;describeS by which-ho belioves aifarm may be cleared of tho''disease, arid other measures iby which it may- bo stamped out, he thinks, in a country by Government action: The discaso is .propagated only by certain species of ticks., and very frequent dipping of cattle is recommended'on a sound far.m:as a j-rev^ntive,,in order to-de-'stroy'the ticks.-, > After-'a, farm has becomo; infected, 'dipping'"is useless, and other measnrcs are recommended. These cohsisTjn tbo' separation of healthy cattle' from infected stock.' ' :■'■',' '~''t "'■', In the Indian 'agricultural statistics'of-'l9o3-9 the following figures for live stock in British India are given:—Bulls .and , bullocks,' 38,G0M<2; caws, 30,392,028: buffalo bu115,■.4,183,231; buffalo"cows," 11.63G,-. 735; calves, including buf[alb"calves, 26,781,871; sheep, 20,187,579; goats, 31,700,520,-: horse's" and iponies, 1,55G,Gr0; mules, 103,-. ,794;'-'donkcyji 1,298,508; ' : camols,'--4tt,5(i2.-Every item shows a considerable increaso in the last .four years,' j Cattle, including buffaloes, nialio' up tho tremendous total 0f.'1H,604,257. Buffaloes cannot bo scpai\ ated in the total, becauso they are mixed, with cattlo in tho',enumcration of calve?. The total compares with 69,080,000 cattle in tho United States, tho country which "comes second'.in this connection. Apart from buffaloes; British India has, manymillions of'eattlo moro lhan' any other conntrj" in the'world. Thoso in tbo nativo States under British control are, not. included,' tho volume of statistics- forthoso Stutos not having yet been' received. ...Canada do«s not ..promise, to cover the decline "of meat.'exports from tho United' States. Tho number of cattlo in Ontario returned-for July'}"lost is 2,587,128' —nearly IUU.OOO less than- therd 'were in. 1900; that of sheep is 1,005,101, or over 250,000, less'than:for,l9oG, and over 700.06& less than for 1900; : vwljilo pigs, numbering 1,561,012, luvo also' fallen off greatly. For Quebec th 6; latest figures show slight increases'in .-cattle-and-pigs', with' a decline in sheep.. Of tho new.. provinces,'Alberta alone is a;great one.for live, stock, ■ and there cattle, shwp and piijv alike bavo increased steadily, so that fln thpwholo tho, Dominion, totals of cattle. and pigs, have advanced considerably,whil<> sheep' havo fluctuated. On tho .whole, the meat , production seems te havo dono no moro than keep paco with tho increased home consumption, if so muoh. in : recent! years;'.: •_ j Writing of recent bush fires in Taranaki, tho Ware.i correspondent of tho News" stated: "Tho weather.of lato has bwn very dry, a high moimtaiu wind-blowins s:nco Friday. ]3ush'fires have started and dono a considerable amount of damage. One fire spread rapidly over 'Mr. T R, 'A. Putt's land, destroying several hundred of rimn posts, and then visited Mr. Goorgo Julian's land, nn'd burnt nearly all Ins grass.. The fire then'cleared a portion of Mr. Foben's land, and finished up in Mrs. Larking's. Tho fires were very had at tho top ond of tho Nowall Road, and.it is feared, that some damago will roon be dono if tho wind docs not'ccasb. A fire started tip tho top end of tho Warea Itoad, ftntl swept over Mr. P. Q. Jones's, Mr. Pi A. Putt's, and-Mr. AV. Julian's, and cleared everything in front of it. From Mr. W. H. Julian's land it- crossed over the Waiweramii liivor into Mr. A.; 3Y?Hs's land,; ijnd seemed t6 bo making pood headway. A firo is also raging at-tho back Roll's oh the top'Ctidof thVPliliiho- Road. Along the Carrington Road things aro very warm, fires being in all directions. It was impossible to traverse thie road _nn. Tuesday,"- •'